Playboy is relaunching as an OnlyFans competitor. Can they make it work?

14:41Playboy is relaunching as an OnlyFans-style platform

Back in March 2020, Playboy announced it would stop printing its magazine. Now, the iconic brand is launching a platform for creators to upload their own content — but could this new model work? Andrea Werhun and Samantha Cole talk about the relationship between sex and the internet, and what may come of Playboy's latest move.

Given everything that was going on in March of 2020, you may have missed the announcement that Playboy decided to pause the printing of its magazine in response to COVID complications.

At the time, they promised they'd figure out what they want to be, and would return with a refreshed Playboy within a year.

Now coming on three years later, Playboy announced its comeback this week — and the plan features a clear focus on a creator platform that lets users upload their own content and charge for it.

It sounds similar to the wildly popular platform OnlyFans, which raises the question: is Playboy prepared to be their competitor?

Samantha Cole, a journalist who literally wrote the book on how the internet changed sex, and Andrea Werhun, a performer who wrote the book on being a sex worker in the digital era, shared their expertise on the online sex economy, and what this move means for the future of an iconic magazine like Playboy.

You can listen to the full discussion from today's show on CBC Listen or on our podcast, Commotion with Elamin Abdelmahmoud, available wherever you get your podcasts.